Only Florida Man Could End Up In the Wrong Grave
FLORIDA MAN STRIKES AGAIN!
DATELINE – Bushnell FL
You hear stories from time to time about mix-ups at funeral homes. But what about when Florida Man ends up in the wrong grave?
When I was in college, there was a summer when I worked for a local entrepreneur, and one of the jobs that I had was cutting the grass in a cemetery, which is fine.
I had a nice big mower. But we kept the equipment in what looked like a crypt. And even though there was nothing in there bute equipment, being in there in the early evening, especially like in August when it gets darker a little earlier than it did in June and July, there was just something about it.
The doors were big and heavy and creepy, and it was musty. And I’m just like, I got to get out of here. At the end of the day, it was one thing to be there in the daylight, but once the sun went down…I don’t know, there was something like, what’s in here? What was that noise?
Well, you can imagine working in a cemetery and you open up a grave because you’re going to bury someone in there, and, well, you find out there’s already somebody buried there.
Sounds like Florida Man!
COURTESY OF WFLA – The final resting place was not final for two veterans buried at Florida National Cemetery in Bushnell. A viewer’s tip led us to one remains mixed up there last year, and now it’s happened again.
8 On Your Side investigator Walt Buteau has the details.
After we broke the story about the first mistake, we were told a remains mix-up had not happened at a national cemetery since 2015. Now it’s happened twice in one year. Two mistakes too many here at Florida National Cemetery, Bushnell where 21-gun salutes are common for veterans who earn the honor to be laid to rest here.
But last August, the cremains of a veteran was mistakenly mixed with the wrong wife, and we found out it happened again this summer when a woman’s casket was found in a crypt with the wrong late husband.
Local morticians we reached out to chose not to discuss the mix-up, saying they do a lot of work with Bushnell. “It’s absolutely horrendous.” So we went to an attorney who works outside the Bay Area and specializes in this type of mistake. “It’s a very special type of trust that you’re giving, and it opens that floodgates for what else was wrong. And if they say they fixed it, can I trust that the fix really happened?”
The latest mistake happened in June. A Bay Area woman, almost 80, passed away and wanted to be buried with her late husband. But when they opened the crypt, there was already a second casket inside.
No one from Bushnell would go on camera, but VA press secretary Terrence Hayes told me in an email, “During the scheduling of a subsequent burial of a veteran spouse, we discovered the already interred remains of an unclaimed spouse with a similar name as the veteran spouse.”
We found out the June mix-up was discovered here in section 628, where the first burial had taken place about three years ago. And we’re told after the mistake was discovered, the remains of the wrong widow were moved and laid to rest again with a veteran believed to be her late husband.
The families were notified, according to Hayes, who said, “We resolved the matter quickly, sincerely apologized to the family, and worked closely with them to honor their wishes and pay tribute to their beloved veteran.”
As far as taking a mistake like this to court, “There’s really no federal protection. If you look for federal rules regarding funeral homes and cemeteries, it doesn’t address well, what about mishandling my loved ones remains?”
There are no indications complaints about either incident were filed with the state. Attempts to contact the families involved have so far been unsuccessful. In Tampa, Walt Buteau’s 8 On Your Side.
There may not be any federal protection right now, but you can bet you can just bet that some attorney somewhere is working on it.
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